HONR 202H
Dr. Jo Koster
261 Bancroft
Phone: 323-4557 (office); 817-7854 (home, before 10 pm)
Web: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj
E-mail: kosterj@winthrop.edu

Fall 2002
Class meets T 11:00-12:15 in Tillman 206A
Office Hours: M, W, R 1-3 and by appointment
Class web page: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/honr202h.htm

Texts: (1) Evelyn Ashton-Jones et al., The Gender Reader, 2^nd edition (ISBN 0-205-
28530-9

(2) The Prentice-Hall Reference Guide or other current composition handbook

Learning Objectives: As an Honors Cultural Symposium, this course is designed both to help you master the subject matter of the course and also to fulfill goals of the Honors Program. Therefore, our learning objectives are as follows:

1. To facilitate the development of your problem-investigating and problem-solving skills

2. To promote both independent and cooperative learning skills

3. To provide opportunities for developing presentation skills

4. To integrate knowledge across course and disciplinary boundaries

5. To investigate an issue (the intersection of language and gender) that permeates cultural and multicultural boundaries

6. To investigate carefully our own perceptions of language and gender and understand the factors and biases that may influence them

 

Grading Breakdown:

· Two-page responses to five of "talking paper" prompts. These should be reflective in tone and approach, and may be informal in address, but should be edited to academic standards. 5 points each, total of 25 points.

· Participation in online discussion (details to follow): minimum of ten substantive contributions. 20 points.

· Group investigative project. 20 points (includes class presentation).

· Individual investigative project. 35 points (25 points for project, 10 points for oral presentation).

Your Responsibilities: You are expected to come to class on time, to be prepared for class, to come to conferences as scheduled, to be familiar with the course requirements explained on this syllabus, to have materials when required, and in general to conduct yourself as a responsible adult. Sometimes we may not discuss all the assigned reading material in class; that’s the way of the world. It doesn’t mean you should not do the reading, since I will expect you to know the concepts covered, be familiar with the vocabulary, and to ask questions if you are confused. If I see evidence that students are not preparing for classes, I will start giving pop quizzes and you will not enjoy them. Be warned! Feel free to e-mail me or leave me a voice mail with questions; I will respond as quickly as I can, but I’m not online or available 24-7, so allow a reasonable amount of time for me to get back to you.

E-mail: I conduct most of my business with students using e-mail. If you do not have an e-mail account, go to 17D Tillman immediately to set it up. All class e-mail will be sent to your campus e-mail address, so make sure you set it to forward to any off-campus account you use (e.g. Comporium, AOL, Yahoo!, etc.) You must provide me with your e-mail address by September 10.

Attendance: Miss two classes and you are on attendance probation; your final grade will be lowered three points for every absence you have beginning with the second. At four absences you will have missed 25% of the course and university policy requires that you receive an F in the course. Absences can be excused with a doctor’s note, university official excuse, or e-mail confirmation from the office of the Dean of Students. This means that you may make up any work you have missed, but the absence will still count toward your total number of absences. Beginning with the second class period there will be an attendance sign-in sheet; you are responsible to sign in each class. If you don’t, or if you’re more than ten minutes late, you will be counted absent for the class. Cell phones and pagers must be turned off during class. If your phone or pager disturbs the class, you will be counted absent for that day.

Assignments/Grading Policies: Assignments are expected at the beginning of class on the due date. Any late papers will be thoroughly marked and commented on but will receive no grade, just credit for being turned in. Under no circumstances will an assignment be accepted more than two class periods after the due date; it will receive a grade of zero. Failure to submit any graded assignment means failure for the course. No exceptions! Failure to bring a rough draft for a class workshop will lower your grade for that paper by 8 points and earn you two absences.

Prepare all out-of-class assignments according to the MLA style (see your composition handbook). You must use a word processor or computer with clear, legible print and ink. Papers must be double-spaced with one-inch margins on all four sides. You may print out final drafts on both sides of the page to save paper, but you will find it much easier to print out working drafts on only one side of the page. Staple the pages once in the upper left-hand corner and submit them with all working papers in your manila envelope. If you must make last-minute corrections, do so neatly in black ink. I look with great favor on students who use the Writing Center regularly, and statistics show that those students tend to have higher grades in the course. Hint, hint. A good description of grades for written work is available at www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric.htm.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a signal phrase, a parenthetical citation at the end, and a listing in "Works Cited")–whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not. Any papers containing plagiarisms—intentional or not—will receive a grade of F and in severe cases may warrant failure in the class and/or your being turned over to the student judicial system for more significant punishment. Turning in a paper written by someone else is always plagiarism and is never acceptable. Therefore, if you ever have a question about how to handle a source–in this or any other class–ask me before you turn in the paper. I will be happy to help you understand how to document it correctly. Your first-year composition handbook, the Writing Center web page, the class web page, and the English Department web page all have information about plagiarism (see www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm.) Ignorance or failure to consult this material is no excuse.

Conferences: We will have at least two rounds of required conferences; failure to make an appointment for a conference or to attend it will cost you 1 absence. Sign-up sheets will be posted next to my office door at least a week before conferences begin; you are responsible for signing up for a conference. If you wait too late and no times are available, I may not be able to reschedule a conference for you.

Office Hours: I welcome students to drop by during office hours and try to be available outside them as well when my academic duties permit. I have a comfy couch in my office for you to come flop on and talk to me about what you’re doing. Please take advantage of them (and not only to raid the cookie and candy jars). If you want to talk to me outside these times, e-mail me and I’ll be very happy to set up an appointment for you.

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-2233, as soon as possible. Once you have your professor notification letter, please notify me so that I am aware of your accommodations well before the first graded assignment.